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Ex-Apple Director Promises Detroit-Built Electric Sports Car

Detroit Electric is modifying a Lotus Elise into a high-performance EV. That sounds familiar...

Photo: Detroit Electric

Detroit Electric is back. Again. For real this time. And the reborn automaker will debut an all-new, all-electric sports car next month, with plans to expand the brand over the next two years.

If you're catching a twinge of skepticism about Detroit Electric's chances, you're not off-base. The automaker was reanimated in 2008 by ZAP and Albert Lam, former CEO of the Lotus Engineering Group and Executive Director of Lotus Cars of England, as well as the Managing Director of Apple's Asia operations. The original plan was to produce an EV based on a Malaysian-based Proton sedan and retrofit a Lotus Elise with an electric drivetrain, similar to what Tesla did with the Roadster. Then ... nothing.

Today that silence was broken with the announcement that Detroit Electric is setting up shop in downtown Detroit's Fisher Building, scouting a nearby production center and promising to bring over 180 jobs to Michigan in the next year.

"We are proud to become the fourth car manufacturer born out of Detroit, and the first to manufacture a pure electric sports car from Michigan," said Don Graunstadt, the company's CEO of North America Operations.

The plan is to release an electric sports car – again, likely based on the Lotus Elise – that showcases the company's powertrain technology, with production set to begin in August after the official debut at the Shanghai Motor Show.

That's ambitious enough, particularly considering the new Elise isn't federalized for U.S. sales due to airbag requirements, but Detroit Electric isn't stopping there. The announcement also includes plans for "a diverse family of all-electric production cars, including two other high-performance models that will enter production by end of 2014" and a partnership with a yet-to-be-named global automaker later this year.